1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. At the end of our recent episode on 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: Viola Desmond, we talked about frequent comparisons between her and 3 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: Rosa Parks and how those comparisons have some limitations, and 4 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:17,279 Speaker 1: we mentioned Elizabeth Jennings Graham, who is sometimes called the 5 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: nineteenth century Rosa Parks. That's a comparison that has some 6 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: similar limitations. We said we would bring our episode on 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: Graham out as a Saturday classic, and here it is. 8 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: This episode originally came out on June and Enjoy. Welcome 9 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of 10 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 11 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson, And today's topic 12 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: is a person who is sometimes called the nineteenth century 13 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: Rosa Parks. The comparison is somewhat apt because you'll see 14 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: as her story folds. But while Elizabeth Jennings Graham was 15 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: raised by parents who were active in advocating for better 16 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: quality of life and for people of color, her involvement 17 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: and how this thing played out one was a little 18 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: bit accidental. Uh So it wasn't something that was part 19 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: of a bigger civil rights movement necessarily. Uh, it just 20 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 1: kind of happened. The other thing that's interesting and that 21 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: makes them very different is that while the story of 22 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus Boycott and the part 23 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: she played in it became very much a part of 24 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: history that remains talked about for a long time, Elizabeth 25 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: Jennings Graham kind of fell off the radar and people 26 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 1: lost the thread of her part of history and her 27 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: uh work for improvement of the quality of life of 28 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: black people in nineteenth century New York. Yeah, it's way 29 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: earlier than the Montgomery bus boycott and also not in 30 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: the South. Yeah, it is a hundred years earlier. It's 31 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: like a um, So the Montgomery bus boycott happened in 32 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: this inn initial incident that catalyzed this whole thing started 33 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty four. Parts of it continued into eighteen 34 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:18,079 Speaker 1: fifty five, so almost exactly a hundred years fascinating story, 35 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: and again it kind of got lost for a while, 36 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: but some historians have really picked up the the flag 37 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,239 Speaker 1: and kind of done some research and really investigated who 38 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: this person was. And there's also a fun little tag 39 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: at the end of this about how kids are starting 40 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: to learn more and more about her story. So the 41 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: date of Elizabeth Jennings Graham's birth is completely unknown. We 42 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,079 Speaker 1: don't have any idea what the month or the date 43 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: of her birth was. Her death certificate at lists eighteen 44 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: twenty six is the year of her birth, but a 45 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: census that was conducted in eighteen fifty lists it as 46 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty. We'll talk a little bit later about something 47 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: that gives a clue about which of those might be 48 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: more correct, but we still don't know what would have 49 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 1: caused that discrepancy in the first place. And Elizabeth's father, 50 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: Thomas Jennings, was the first black man to hold a U. S. Patent, 51 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: which he was awarded in the early eighteen twenties. He 52 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: had begun his professional life in tailoring, and he had 53 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: invented a means to clean clothes using solvents. It was 54 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: an early version of dry cleaning. I have read in 55 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: some places it was called dry scouring, but we don't 56 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,519 Speaker 1: actually have the text of the patent. He and Elizabeth's mother, 57 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: who was also named Elizabeth, were part of New York's 58 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: black middle class. They lived at one sixty seven Church 59 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: Street in Lower Manhattan, and they were active in the community, 60 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: working on improving the lives of other black citizens. Slavery 61 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: had been abolished in New York during Thomas's lifetime, over 62 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: the course of a series of laws between seventeen eight seven. 63 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: These phased out the institution of slavery in New York incrementally, 64 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: and he had used his patent money to purchase the 65 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: freedom of some of his family members. Yeah, he had 66 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: been born free, but not everyone in his family had been, 67 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: and Thomas had long been involved in activism against racial injustice. 68 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: He attended the first three National Conventions of Free People 69 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: of Color, which began in eighteen thirty, and he helped 70 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: found the Wilberforce Philanthropic Society, which helped black citizens improve 71 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:20,039 Speaker 1: their lives. Thomas and his wife Elizabeth had at least 72 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: four other children. In addition to their daughter Elizabeth, there 73 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: were two boys and two girls we know about named 74 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: William Thomas Junior, Matilda, and Lucy. The children all attended school. 75 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: This is the time when education wasn't a given for 76 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: children of any background. Public schools were established in New 77 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 1: York in the early eighteen hundreds, but there weren't any 78 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,720 Speaker 1: kind of requirements to attend school, and a lot of 79 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: children were working at jobs at a very early age. 80 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: The Jennings children were a lot more educated than many 81 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: other children in New York, and from a young age, 82 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: Elizabeth followed in her family's ideology of fighting against racial injustice. 83 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 1: At the age of ten, she recited an essay at 84 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: a gather ring of the Ladies Literary Society of the 85 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,920 Speaker 1: City of New York entitled on the Improvement of the Mind, 86 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 1: which was later published in the paper The Colored American. 87 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: That paper was published in eighteen thirty seven, So if 88 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,279 Speaker 1: she was ten at the time, this supports that eighteen 89 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: twenty six year of birth a little bit more than 90 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: we have anything to support the eighteen thirty year. Although 91 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Jennings was born a free woman, she was also 92 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: still a black woman, and she grew up in a 93 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: largely de facto segregated New York. Slavery was not abolished 94 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: at the at the federal level at the time of 95 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:37,040 Speaker 1: the primary event that we're talking about today. The Fugitive 96 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,479 Speaker 1: Slave Act of eighteen fifty was still in effect. That 97 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,160 Speaker 1: act required that enslaved people who ran away to non 98 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: slave states be captured and returned to their owners. Aiding 99 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: someone who escaped enslavement was also illegal. Free black men 100 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: and women in states that had abolished slavery feared that 101 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 1: they could be kidnapped and transported to a slave state 102 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: even though they had not been enslaved. Yeah, that was 103 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: a very real concern because how they would have no 104 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: way to fight that if someone dragged them into a 105 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: slave state and sold them, they have no recourse against 106 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 1: it at that point. It was really dangerous time. Yeah, 107 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: we've we've talked about it in episodes before and talked 108 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: about people even the taking the step of if they 109 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 1: had the means, moving to Canada to get away from 110 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: the risk of being sold into slavery. In the United States, 111 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:31,359 Speaker 1: there also were not a lot of job prospects for 112 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:33,920 Speaker 1: a young person of color to aspire to, even in 113 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: New York. Ministry and teaching jobs were some of the 114 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: few non labor positions that were available to black citizens, 115 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: and those positions were finite. They could only minister or 116 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 1: teach other people of color. But the Jennings children really 117 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,600 Speaker 1: seemed to do quite well for themselves. William ended up 118 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,159 Speaker 1: becoming a businessman. I believe he moved to Boston. Thomas Jr. 119 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: Was a dentist. Uh, he moved to New Orleans. I 120 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,280 Speaker 1: think and Matilda was addressed Acre. Elizabeth became a teacher 121 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: I Read One Thing where in eighteen fifty five she 122 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: was one of only thirteen black teachers in New York 123 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: uh and after a year of teaching at Colored Public 124 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 1: School Number two, she worked in the system that was 125 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: established by the New York Society for the Promotion of 126 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: Education among Colored Children, which was a better school system 127 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: for her, and she also worked as a church organist. 128 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:28,560 Speaker 1: On July eighteen fifty four, Jennings was traveling to the 129 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: first Colored American Congregational Church preparing to a company the 130 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: afternoon choir practice. As usual, she walked a short distance 131 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: from the Jennings home to a street car stop at 132 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: the corner of Pearl and Shay them She ran into 133 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: her friends Sarah E. Adams as she walked, and the 134 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,920 Speaker 1: two of them walked together to the stop. She tried 135 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: to board a horse drawn street car which was run 136 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: by the Third Avenue Railway Company. Horse Drawn street cars 137 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: normally had two men who were running them. There was 138 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: the driver and the conductor, and the car company had 139 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: a policy against allowing black passengers. This was a common 140 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: policy on street cars. Often black people who wanted to 141 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: take a street car would have to wait for one 142 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: with a sign that indicated that people of color were 143 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: allowed to board, but those were not as frequent as 144 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: cars that only accepted white passengers. The problem of the 145 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: transportation system and its treatment of black people was not new, 146 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: and a rapidly growing city like New York, street cars 147 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: were increasingly relied upon by the city's inhabitants, and activists 148 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: have been writing about the poor treatment of black travelers 149 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: for more than two decades before this point. And we're 150 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 1: gonna pause a little bit early for our sponsor break here, 151 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 1: because I want to keep the account of what actually 152 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: happened once the street car came all together. So we're 153 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,319 Speaker 1: gonna jump right back in after we first have this pause. 154 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: Elizabeth was a little bit worried about making it to 155 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,320 Speaker 1: the church to accompany the choir on time, so she 156 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,960 Speaker 1: took a chance. Sometimes a conductor would allow a black 157 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,119 Speaker 1: passenger to board if none of the other passengers objected, 158 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,840 Speaker 1: And so when Elizabeth explained her predicament to the conductor, 159 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:18,320 Speaker 1: he was not sympathetic. He told her she could just 160 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 1: wait for the next car, and she wrote about this 161 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: incident quote he told me that the other car had 162 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 1: my people in it, that it was appropriated for that purpose. 163 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:29,559 Speaker 1: I then told him I had no people. It was 164 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 1: no particular occasion. I wished to go to church, as 165 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: I had been doing for the last six months, and 166 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: I did not wish to be detained. So even though 167 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:39,439 Speaker 1: the conductor had told her to get off the street car, 168 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: Elizabeth stayed on. She said she would take the next 169 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 1: one if it was one that would take black passengers, 170 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 1: but she was going to stay on the current one 171 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:50,560 Speaker 1: until I got there. When the second street car came, 172 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: it was full, which was another problem that arose from 173 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: the scarcity of cars that allowed black passengers, and this 174 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: set up a battle of wills. Both Elizabe and the 175 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: conductor of the car she was standing on. We're willing 176 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,079 Speaker 1: to stand their ground and wait for the other one 177 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:09,760 Speaker 1: to give in. Eventually, though it was the driver's desire 178 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: to get going that led the conductor to yield. Elizabeth 179 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: was no shrinking violet, and even as she was allowed 180 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: to board, she told the conductor that she didn't know 181 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: where he was born, but that she was a New 182 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: Yorker and that she had never been treated so poorly. 183 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: While attempting to go to church and that he was 184 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: an impudent fellow. The conductor answered that he was from Ireland, 185 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: when she replied that she didn't care where he was from. 186 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 1: She only cared that quote. He behaved himself and did 187 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: not insult genteel persons. That set the conductor off. He 188 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 1: physically removed Elizabeth's friend Sarah, and then dragged Elizabeth herself out. 189 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,960 Speaker 1: She attempted to resist by holding onto the window sash, 190 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 1: and after a bit of a struggle, the conductor told 191 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: the driver to come out and help him. The two 192 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:59,320 Speaker 1: men took Jennings by the arms and removed her from 193 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,840 Speaker 1: the car, dragging her down to the platform. She was 194 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: screaming and her friend was shouting, you'll killer, don't kill her. 195 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: And after she had been dumped onto the platform, the 196 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:14,520 Speaker 1: driver went back to his horses and in an incredibly 197 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,120 Speaker 1: bold move, before the street car could leave, Elizabeth got 198 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 1: up and she marched right back onto the street car 199 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 1: and she sat in a seat. The conductor was irate 200 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 1: and he ordered the driver to take off and to 201 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: drive as quickly as he could until they found either 202 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 1: a police officer or a police station. When the driver 203 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: spotted a policeman, he stopped the car and the conductor 204 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 1: spoke with the officer, and after the conductor told his 205 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: side of the story, Jennings, who was not asked to 206 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:45,200 Speaker 1: give her version of the story, was removed. The conductor 207 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: wrote his name and the street car number on a 208 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:48,880 Speaker 1: slip of paper and hand it to her and the 209 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:52,920 Speaker 1: street car left. Yeah, incidentally, he wrote the wrong number 210 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 1: for the street car on that slip of paper. It's 211 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: unknown whether he was trying to hide something or if 212 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 1: he just was incorrect, but just one of the many, 213 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:06,040 Speaker 1: uh many problems of that day. So Elizabeth at this point, 214 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:08,360 Speaker 1: I mean, she had literally been thrown on the ground. 215 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:09,959 Speaker 1: She was kind of a mess. She was normally a 216 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: very put together, uh really you know, lovely young woman. 217 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: And so she headed home on foot. A bookseller from 218 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,080 Speaker 1: Germany had actually approached her, and he said that he 219 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: had seen the entire incident, that he would be happy 220 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 1: to serve as a witness, and he gave her his information. 221 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:30,439 Speaker 1: When she got home, her disheveled appearance really frightened her parents. 222 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 1: They had a doctor come and examined her. He put 223 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:35,240 Speaker 1: her on bed rest and mentioned that she might have 224 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,959 Speaker 1: broken bones. Yeah, she had a bit of a limp 225 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,120 Speaker 1: by the time she got home, and Elizabeth wrote out 226 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: everything that had happened at her father's urging. So while 227 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 1: she rested at home, her father took that letter that 228 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: she had written to leaders of the black community throughout 229 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:55,560 Speaker 1: Lower Manhattan, and that included Frederick Douglas. A meeting was 230 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:59,160 Speaker 1: called at the First Colored American Congregational Church Quote for 231 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 1: the purpose of making an expression of public sentiment condemnatory 232 00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:07,440 Speaker 1: of the outrage committed upon the person of Miss Elizabeth Jennings, 233 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:11,880 Speaker 1: a highly respectable female. Elizabeth couldn't attend due to her 234 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 1: doctor impost bed rest, so her father went in her 235 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: place and read allowed her account of events on the 236 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 1: events on the street car. A five person committee was 237 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,680 Speaker 1: formed to examine the facts the incident and to decide 238 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: on what the next step should be. They took a 239 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: collection to help cover the costs of an attorney. Elizabeth's 240 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,439 Speaker 1: account was also sent to the paper, and on July 241 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:37,720 Speaker 1: nineteenth of eighteen fifty four, that story was printed in 242 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 1: the New York Daily Tribune. So while the Tribune was 243 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:43,560 Speaker 1: a New York paper, it had weekly editions that were 244 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:47,679 Speaker 1: mailed to subscribers throughout the country. Thomas Jennings was on 245 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 1: this five man investigative committee. He and his colleagues decided 246 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:54,560 Speaker 1: to fight the street car company for their treatment of 247 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 1: his daughter. They hired attorney chester A. Arthur, although he 248 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 1: wasn't their first choice. Their first choice had been abolitionist 249 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: Erastus D. Culver, but when they met with him, he 250 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:08,640 Speaker 1: referred them to Arthur, who had only been practicing law 251 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: for six weeks. Because Culver had been elected to a 252 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 1: judge ship in Brooklyn, he had given the young chester A. 253 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,680 Speaker 1: Arthur all of his cases. But Arthur, who was twenty 254 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 1: four at the time, would later go on to become 255 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,120 Speaker 1: the twenty first President of the United States, and he 256 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: was a strong ally. He had been Culver's apprentice, and 257 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: he was ideologically aligned with his mentor. And Arthur filed 258 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: a suit on behalf of Elizabeth Jennings in the New 259 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 1: York State Supreme Court, seeking damages from the conductor, the driver, 260 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:42,160 Speaker 1: and the Third Avenue Railway Company. But this was not 261 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 1: just about getting recompense for Elizabeth. The hope was that 262 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: this lawsuit, which was filed as a civil case rather 263 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: than a criminal case, would change the company stance on 264 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: segregated street cars. If the Third Avenue Railway Company lost. 265 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 1: Thomas Jennings wrote of the case, quote, the assault, though 266 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 1: very aggravated, case is only secondary in our view to 267 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 1: the rights of our people. He also made the point 268 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:09,200 Speaker 1: that it was mere custom that kept black people on 269 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 1: segregated street cars. There was no actual law that said 270 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: that people of any color couldn't sit on any street 271 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:18,760 Speaker 1: car they wished. That's one of the big uh, not 272 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: not continual, but but frequently differences between segregation in the 273 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: North and the South is that a lot of times 274 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: in the South there were laws specifically saying all these things, 275 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:30,640 Speaker 1: and in the North it was more common that these 276 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: were sort of socially enforced but not actually documented anywhere. 277 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: At a literary exhibition held at the First Colored American 278 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 1: Congregational Church in the fall of that year, Elizabeth played 279 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 1: the organ and as part of the programming, speeches were 280 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 1: given in support of overthrowing slavery and and bettering the 281 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: lives of black people. Events like this continued to garner 282 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,400 Speaker 1: support for her case in the community while they waited 283 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: for a court date. Yeah, and as this news was 284 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: spreading throughout the country, she was receiving let of support 285 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 1: from around the United States in the case of Elizabeth 286 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: Jennings versus Third Avenue Railway Company went to trial the 287 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:14,360 Speaker 1: following year, on February. The case was filed and tried 288 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 1: in Brooklyn rather than Manhattan, because the company was headquartered 289 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,640 Speaker 1: there and that courtroom was packed. The records of the 290 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 1: court proceedings are unfortunately lost. Uh It is believed that 291 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: the German bookseller that we mentioned earlier, Elizabeth's friends, Sarah 292 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 1: Thomas Jennings, and Elizabeth herself were all witnesses. They all testified, 293 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,560 Speaker 1: of course, before a jury that consisted entirely of white men. 294 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: After the testimony, Judge William Rockwell's instructions to the jury 295 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 1: made it clear that a company was legally responsible for 296 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,240 Speaker 1: the actions of its employees. He also stated that as 297 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 1: a public transportation business, the Third Avenue Railway Company was 298 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 1: quote bound to carry all respectable persons that colored persons, 299 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: if sober, well behaved and free firm disease, had the 300 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 1: same rights as others. Those instructions made news, and they 301 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:06,640 Speaker 1: were printed in the papers after the trial. And while 302 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:10,000 Speaker 1: they do represent an important moment, which was a State 303 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 1: Supreme Court judge saying that people of color had the 304 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:15,639 Speaker 1: same rights as others. There are also a lot of 305 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:20,040 Speaker 1: qualifiers on those rights, basically saying that to be entitled 306 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:21,960 Speaker 1: to those same rights, they had to be the right 307 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 1: kind of black people. Yeah. Uh. But after deliberation, the 308 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 1: jury returned to the courtroom and the lead juror handed 309 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: the judge in the case their decision, and the paper 310 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:37,199 Speaker 1: read quote, the jury has awarded miss Jennings two dollars 311 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,880 Speaker 1: plus ten percent for court costs, So they had won. 312 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:43,159 Speaker 1: This was less than half of the amount that they 313 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,240 Speaker 1: had filed for, which was five dollars, but it was 314 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:48,960 Speaker 1: also what Elizabeth made in a full year at her job, 315 00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:51,479 Speaker 1: and it was greeted as a huge win, not just 316 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:55,040 Speaker 1: for the Jennings but for New York's black community. We'll 317 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: talk about what happened after the trial after we take 318 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: a break for a word from a sponsor, Frederick Douglass Paper, 319 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: which was actually the name uh he had changed the 320 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 1: north star to. It was literally called Frederick Douglass Paper. Uh. 321 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: He made that change. In eighteen fifty one ran the 322 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:22,919 Speaker 1: story of Jenning's successful court case with the headline legal 323 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: rights vindicated and opening with quote, our readers will rejoice 324 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:31,159 Speaker 1: with us in the righteous verdict given. Other papers across 325 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:34,840 Speaker 1: the country also picked up the story, including Judge Rockwell's words. 326 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,440 Speaker 1: The Pacific Appeal, which is a paper published in San Francisco, 327 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:41,479 Speaker 1: ran the story with the headline quote a wholesome verdict. 328 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: The final paragraph takes the tone of the write up 329 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:47,159 Speaker 1: in an interesting direction. It hints that the writer was 330 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,439 Speaker 1: more concerned with people bringing their stinky groceries onto street 331 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:57,159 Speaker 1: cars and then whether a passenger is black. It reads, quote, railroads, steamboats, omnibuses, 332 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,600 Speaker 1: and ferry boats will be admonished from this As to 333 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:04,000 Speaker 1: the rights of respectable colored people, it is high time 334 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:06,919 Speaker 1: that the rights of this class of citizens were ascertained, 335 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 1: and that it should be known whether they are to 336 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 1: be thrust from our public conveyances while women with a 337 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: quarter of mutton or a load of cod fish can 338 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 1: be admitted. That kind of cracked me up. Uh. That 339 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:23,040 Speaker 1: headline A wholesome verdict, and the basic story ran in 340 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:25,680 Speaker 1: a bunch of different papers. It's kind of like, uh, 341 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: you know, if you'll see an ap story repeated throughout 342 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: multiple papers today. Very similarly, the same story ran word 343 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: for word in a lot of places. But soon after 344 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,400 Speaker 1: this case was settled, the Third Avenue Railroad Company did 345 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:42,119 Speaker 1: start integrating its street cars, and other companies followed suit. 346 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,240 Speaker 1: But for clarity, it was not as though they had 347 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:47,240 Speaker 1: seen the light and believed that this was the right 348 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: thing to do. This was a business decision. They were 349 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:53,080 Speaker 1: really fearful that more lawsuits could follow and that they 350 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,880 Speaker 1: would start hemorrhaging money if more juries made similar decisions. 351 00:19:57,640 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 1: There were a handful of similar cases over the next 352 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: two years. While companies were integrating their street cars, it 353 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,480 Speaker 1: wasn't as though conductors all stopped being racist due to 354 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:10,320 Speaker 1: those changes. After the ruling, Thomas Jennings founded the Legal 355 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,359 Speaker 1: Rights Association. This organization is sometimes called a precursor to 356 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:16,800 Speaker 1: then double a CP, and it was an advocacy group 357 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:19,639 Speaker 1: that helped black New Yorkers find and pay for legal 358 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:23,400 Speaker 1: representation in civil rights cases. It also lobbied for fair 359 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:27,400 Speaker 1: treatment of people of color. It organized protests and educated 360 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,680 Speaker 1: the public. Thomas Jennings died four years after Elizabeth's court 361 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:36,040 Speaker 1: case in eighteen fifty nine. Unfortunately, he did not live 362 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:39,760 Speaker 1: long enough to see uh some of the many things 363 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:43,199 Speaker 1: that he had fought so hard for. In eighteen sixty, 364 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,200 Speaker 1: Elizabeth met and married a man named Charles Graham, who 365 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 1: was from St. Croix. Elizabeth and Charles had a son 366 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty two, named in honor of Elizabeth's father, Thomas, 367 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,040 Speaker 1: but unfortunately, Thomas died in infancy just a year after 368 00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 1: his birth. Uh. The only thing that I have found 369 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 1: one that seems to ever be written up as the 370 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: cause of his death is convulsions. Um, so we don't 371 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,560 Speaker 1: know the exact nature of his illness. Charles and Elizabeth 372 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:13,119 Speaker 1: actually traveled with Thomas's body from Manhattan to its burial 373 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 1: place in Brooklyn, and that was actually a trip that 374 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,280 Speaker 1: was very, very dangerous at this time because the Civil 375 00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: War draft riots were taking place in the city. The Graham's, 376 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,399 Speaker 1: along with Elizabeth's mother, left the city after that and 377 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:27,480 Speaker 1: they moved to New Jersey. Charles Graham died in eighteen 378 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,480 Speaker 1: sixty seven. He was only thirty four and he and 379 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: Elizabeth had only been married for seven years. Elizabeth and 380 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,720 Speaker 1: her mother continued to live together in the Eton Town 381 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:40,720 Speaker 1: area for the next several years. In eighteen seventy one, 382 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,880 Speaker 1: the Jennings women moved back to Lower Manhattan, this time 383 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:46,879 Speaker 1: into a home at five forty three Broom Street. In 384 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 1: eighteen seventies three, Elizabeth's mother died, and Elizabeth had continued 385 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: to work as a teacher throughout her life, but after 386 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 1: losing her child, her husband, and her mother in the 387 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:00,119 Speaker 1: course of a decade, teaching children became pretty much the 388 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,960 Speaker 1: entire focus of her life. Elizabeth Jennings Graham moved once 389 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,440 Speaker 1: more after her mother's death, this time to a house 390 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:09,399 Speaker 1: at two thirty seven West forty one Street, which was 391 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:12,920 Speaker 1: closer to the school where she worked. In eighteen eighty one, 392 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,679 Speaker 1: Chester A. Arthur became president when President James A. Garfield 393 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,280 Speaker 1: was assassinated, and his rise to the highest office in 394 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:22,719 Speaker 1: US government kicked up a bit of interest in the 395 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,159 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty five court case again, but Elizabeth did not 396 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:31,640 Speaker 1: seem particularly interested in stepping into the spotlight. In her 397 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:34,439 Speaker 1: home on West forty one Street became the site of 398 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 1: the first free kindergarten for black children in New York. 399 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:40,720 Speaker 1: She also continued to live there, but she lived on 400 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 1: the upper floor and had the school downstairs, and she 401 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 1: was not alone in setting up this kindergarten. She worked 402 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: with two other women, Mrs James Herbert Morse and Mrs 403 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 1: Edward Curtis, and the idea of kindergarten, which was really 404 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: more supervised play than you know, book learning, so to speak, 405 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:01,199 Speaker 1: was still relatively new. It had been developed in the 406 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,600 Speaker 1: eighteen thirties in Germany, but even sixty years later, though 407 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 1: private and then public kindergartens had been established in some 408 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: cities in the US, there still were not any in 409 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:14,160 Speaker 1: New York for black children. Prior to this. I wish 410 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:20,359 Speaker 1: we knew her colleagues names beyond their husband's name. That 411 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 1: happened sometimes when we're researching this far back in the past. 412 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:27,119 Speaker 1: So this was not a situation that it was like 413 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,440 Speaker 1: a daycare running out of Elizabeth's home. The school had 414 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,520 Speaker 1: a structure, It was funded through donors, and a teacher 415 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:37,080 Speaker 1: named Leoni g Ricord was hired to manage the curriculum. 416 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:39,119 Speaker 1: The lower level of the home was made into a 417 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,119 Speaker 1: school room, and the yard was transformed into an outdoor 418 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 1: activity area. Elizabeth Jennings Graham also ran a lending library 419 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:50,199 Speaker 1: out of the house. She was also the librarian, and 420 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 1: on Saturdays the classroom was used as a sewing school. 421 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,440 Speaker 1: I love how busy she was with all of these 422 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: endeavors well, and she really was kind of carrying on 423 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:04,160 Speaker 1: her father's legacy of like trying to help people help 424 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,919 Speaker 1: themselves by becoming more educated and more skilled and more knowledgeable. 425 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,239 Speaker 1: And it's a that family has some pretty good, uh 426 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,199 Speaker 1: pretty good values. So Elizabeth died in her sleep on 427 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:17,679 Speaker 1: June five, nine one, in her home, so that was 428 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:21,200 Speaker 1: six years after she started the school. She worked literally 429 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 1: right up until the day she died. She was in 430 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 1: her seventies at the time. She was buried in Cypress 431 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,679 Speaker 1: Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn. In two thousand seven, a small 432 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,359 Speaker 1: street marker appeared on the corner of Park Row and 433 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:37,359 Speaker 1: Spruce Street that read Elizabeth Jennings Place. It's not the 434 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:41,440 Speaker 1: exact intersection where she was assaulted, but it is nearby 435 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:45,439 Speaker 1: that spot and in a fitting full circle moment for 436 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: somebody who dedicated her professional career to teaching. It is 437 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,880 Speaker 1: the work of school children. Third and fourth grade students 438 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:55,119 Speaker 1: from New York's PS three sixty one had been studying 439 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,600 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Jennings Graham and they got the idea to try 440 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:01,720 Speaker 1: to have her commemorated. And this was not the first 441 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,120 Speaker 1: time this happened. There was a previous class that attempted 442 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:07,400 Speaker 1: something similar but was not successful. But the kids collected 443 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:09,919 Speaker 1: signatures from area residents, and then with the help of 444 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:12,920 Speaker 1: their teachers, they put together their case to petition the city, 445 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 1: and after trying to have first a playground named for 446 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,920 Speaker 1: her which did not pan out Um and then selecting 447 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,399 Speaker 1: the intersection where she had boarded that street car, but 448 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:24,720 Speaker 1: finding it had already been given an honorarily designation, that 449 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,439 Speaker 1: alternate corner was chosen by city officials, but it was 450 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,240 Speaker 1: approved by the students and their teachers. So she does 451 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:34,640 Speaker 1: have small little recognition, a little sign that you will 452 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:39,200 Speaker 1: see if you are at the corner of Um Park, 453 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 1: Row and Spruce, because some of those streets have also 454 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:50,280 Speaker 1: changed names from when she was there. They so much 455 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,359 Speaker 1: for joining us on this Saturday. Since this episode is 456 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:55,440 Speaker 1: out of the archive, if you heard an email address 457 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:57,680 Speaker 1: or a Facebook U r L or something similar over 458 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,320 Speaker 1: the course of the show that could be obsoletely now. 459 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:05,000 Speaker 1: Our current email address is History Podcast at i heart 460 00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 1: radio dot com. 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